Ghana Moves to Tighten Public Spending as Value for Money Office Gets Acting Boss
Ghana is stepping up efforts to improve the efficiency of public spending with the appointment of Dr. Abdul-Baasit Aziz-Bamba as Acting Director-General of the newly established Value for Money Office.
The office is expected to play a key role in ensuring that government spending delivers measurable economic and social benefits, as the country seeks to strengthen fiscal discipline and reduce waste.
Dr. Aziz-Bamba, a Harvard-trained lawyer and former Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Law, will lead the office in an acting capacity pending the receipt of the constitutionally required advice of the Governing Board in consultation with the Public Services Commission.
The Value for Money Office was established under the Value for Money Office Act, 2026 (Act 1172), with a mandate to examine how public funds are used and whether government expenditure is delivering the intended results.
Its operationalisation comes at a time when efficient use of public resources is critical to Ghana’s economic recovery. Improving spending efficiency could help government achieve more with limited resources, particularly in areas such as infrastructure, education, healthcare and social protection.
Beyond identifying waste, the office could also strengthen accountability in the use of public funds by placing greater emphasis on the outcomes generated by government projects and programmes.
The appointment therefore marks an important step towards making value for money a more central consideration in public financial management and ensuring that government expenditure translates into tangible benefits for citizens.
The effectiveness of the office, however, will depend on its ability to conduct rigorous assessments, make its findings useful to policymakers and ensure that recommendations lead to improvements in how public resources are allocated and spent.
